Untoasted and Toasted Spice Blend

Name: Untoasted and Toasted Spice Blend (Kashmiri Garam Masala)
Yield: Makes ¼ cup
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches long), broken into smaller pieces; ½ teaspoon black cumin seeds; ½ teaspoon whole cloves; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1 teaspoon black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 4 blades mace, or ¼ teaspoon ground mace; Seeds from 4 black cardamom pods; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Kashmiri Garam Masala

Preparation info

Makes
¼ cup

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

In this unusual masala, some of the spices are toasted and some not, which is typical of everyday Kashmiri cooking. Most of the spices in this mélange are aromatics, and it is sprinkled in meat, poultry, vegetable, and legume curries as a finishing blend, usually toward the end of the cooking.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches long), broken into smal

Asia
India
Preserve
Spice Mix
Gluten-free
Vegan
Spicy

Method

Preheat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and cinnamon, and toast, shaking the skillet every few seconds, until the cumin seeds turn reddish brown, the cinnamon sticks appear brittle, and the mixture is highly fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Immediately transfer the nutty-smelling spices to a plate to cool. (The longer they sit in the hot skillet, the